H.G. Wells' sci-fi novel War of the Worlds is finally being adapted as a TV series

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Rejoice, H.G. Wells fans! A War of the Worlds television series is currently in the works.

According to a report over at Broadcast Now, Mammoth Screen (which is owned by the producers of the new Poldark series on ITV) is working on a TV adaptation of Wells’ classic sci-fi novel, and they've brought Peter Harness on board to pen the miniseries.

What’s even more awesome is that the new TV series will stick closely to the original text and time period of the book -- which was first released as a serial in 1897 -- with the Martian invasion taking place in the town of Dorking, Surrey, in Victorian England.

If you’re wondering right now who Peter Harness is, he's the dude who wrote the excellent Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell miniseries that aired earlier this year. He's also penned the Doctor Who episodes “Kill the Moon” and this season’s Zygon two-parter “The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion,” as well as a couple of Wallander episodes starring Kenneth Branagh. Basically, I think the new series is in good hands.

Production on the ITV adaptation will kick off in early 2017, after the copyright expires in December 2016. Paramount Pictures has held onto the rights of The War of the Worlds for nearly 90 years after first getting their hands on them back in 1926, and there have been two big-screen adaptations. The first movie came out in 1953 and starred Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, while the second film, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg, hit movie theaters in 2005.

Mammoth Screen managing director Damien Timmer said: “The aftershock of The War of the Worlds can still be felt in popular culture today. The story of a Martian invasion as experienced in Victorian Surrey is a masterpiece. We want this new adaptation to reaffirm H G Wells’ position as one of this country’s most important writers.”

What do you think? Are you excited about a War of the Worlds TV series that will stay true to H.G. Wells’ original story?